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National Register

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places Program

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.

The Green River Drift Trail is significant at the statewide level and meets the National Register of Historic Places criteria for significance under Criterion A in the areas of agriculture and politics/government. It also meets the registration requirements for Cattle Trails and Driveways described in the Ranches, Farms, and Homesteads in Wyoming, 1860-1960 Multiple Property Document. It played a significant role in the development of the ranches in the Upper Green River Valley and specifically of the Upper Green River Cattle Association member ranches and is a representative example of a stock drift trail. The Drift meets the criteria for traditional cultural property as a property that represents a rural community 's land use patterns and reflects the ranching community's traditional practices and values held for over five generations. The Drift showcases how a stock drive works and its significance within the ranching industry . It also highlights the relationship between federal agencies and ranchers through the use of public land for grazing. The trail has been continuously used since the 1890s to get the cattle in the Upper Green River Cattle Association from what are now the BLM allotments at the south end of the trail to what are now the United States. Forest Service allotments at the north. The trail is 58 miles long with 41 miles of spurs. The Drift crosses BLM managed property, State of Wyoming property, private property, and United States Forest Service managed property. The trail also makes use of some county roads along its path.

Properties are listed in the National Register of Historic Places under four criteria: A, B, C, and D. For information on what these criterion are and how they are applied, please see our Bulletin on How to Apply the National Register Criteria